The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is withholding at least $19 billion in climate and environmental justice funding, defying federal court orders and leaving vital programs in limbo.
Marianne Lavelle, Dylan Baddour, Lisa Sorg and Nicholas Kusnetz report for Inside Climate News.
In short:
- The Trump administration has frozen billions in EPA grants and loans, ignoring court rulings that ordered funds to be distributed.
- EPA administrator Lee Zeldin seeks to claw back $20 billion from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, alleging mismanagement but providing no evidence.
- The freeze disrupts clean water, air monitoring, disaster recovery and community resilience projects, leaving low-income and minority communities particularly vulnerable.
Key quote:
“Organizations are going under. Farmers are losing jobs, low-income communities are losing critical access to food and businesses are waiting on invoices that must be paid.”
— Jillian Blanchard, Lawyers for Good Government
Why this matters:
Environmental justice programs target communities that have long faced disproportionate pollution and climate-related hardships. Many projects at risk — such as clean drinking water initiatives, air quality monitoring and energy efficiency upgrades — address public health and economic stability. The funding freeze could halt essential services and delay recovery efforts in areas still struggling from past disasters. Legal battles may take months, leaving many organizations in financial uncertainty.
Read more: Funding for environmental justice grants at risk under new administration
